Tell stories at Tall Tales, Mumbai's newest storytelling club

Michael Burns 36 loves telling and listening to stories It has a lot to do with a trip to a grocery store in the US wersquoll soon share the story which culminated in a tattoo of a frozen radio wave on his arm which he doesnrsquot offer to show and we cannot possibly insist Burns is at a Dadarbased cafeacute and waiting to audition a storyteller who is part of Tall Tales Burnsrsquo storytelling club and will tell his story at its first event on June 7 ldquoI fell in love with stories and storytelling in 1997 I lived in Connecticut back then and was on my way to a grocery store when I heard a speech on radio It struck me as powerful and the medium was just right LR Kaneez Surka and Michael Burns codirectors of Tall Tales a storytelling club audition with theatre actor Mukul Chadda PicKareena N Gianani Around the same time I also tuned in to This American Life a weekly radio show where three stories are selected for a 90minute slot Sometimes one story is so good that only one storyteller speaks for that longrdquo Candidness and humour remembers Burns was key to all great stories he heard then ldquoOne of the best stories I ever heard was about the greatest phone message a guy ever gotrdquo he smiles Burns moved to India in February 2011 and now teaches English at YMCA He is also adjunct professor at Post University at Connecticut where he teaches film theory Tall Tales he says is his way of paying to tribute to stories that we all carry within ourselves but seldom have a chance to share ldquoWe think we donrsquot have a story to share or wonder who really wants to hear it anyway but thatrsquos not truerdquo says Burns The first storytelling event will focus on nonfiction life stories Burns and the codirector of Tall Tales Kaneez Surka say that they receive at least two stories everyday and they pick the ones they think are truelife stories ldquoWell at least 99 per cent true to liferdquo smiles Surka who like Burns is an improv artist ldquoThis experience of course will be different from telling a story at a cocktail party mdash we hold rehearsals and auditions to smoothen any creases in the writing and the storytellingrdquo adds Surka Most people who have been selected for the first event have barely spoken on stage and Burns and Surka say that rehearsals really seem to be helping them with the nerves At this point Mukul Chadda 39 the auditioneer walks in with at least seven sheets of typewritten paper The theatre actor and improv artist is the only one among the six people selected who is familiar with public speaking Chaddarsquos story is titled lsquoThere are no trash cans in Tokyorsquo ldquoA few years ago I was in Japan for an official trip and still remember how flummoxed and lost I was Japanese culture and customs can be disorienting at first and I thought this would be a good time to laugh at myselfrdquo he smiles Chadda begins reading and his story elicits smiles at first which soon become wide grins and laughter In the story Chadda somehow always gets stuck with a piece of trash which he cannot dispose off in a city which does not expect its citizens to have trash to begin with Throughout the 18minutelong reading Burns who also has a copy of the story writes his remarks on the margins After Chadda finishes his reading Burns and Surka give their verdict ldquoThe story has a great character and a strong voicerdquo observes Burns What also works for the duo is the detail like a description of a silverhaired Japanese man combing his hair in the menrsquos room which is Chaddarsquos last resort to dump his ice cream cup ldquoWe also gain a good amount of insight about how indirect Japanese culture could seem to an Indian without really being condescending or goofy about itrdquo Surka points out Burns and Surka suggest that Chadda shorten the length of the story to 11 minutes and cut down on some irrelevant bits ldquoAlsordquo says Burns ldquotake out the word lsquoboringrsquo from that one line there I donrsquot know why but I think uttering that word brings that emotion to liferdquo he smiles ldquoLetrsquos not leave it lying around at the eventrdquo From the second Tall Tales event onwards says Surka they would love to have people speak on set themes ldquoWersquod love to ask people to only speak of life lessons travel love it could be anything really And we plan to hold an event every month if all goes wellrdquo How to tell a great tall tale gtgt According to Michael Burns every great story speaks about a state of change ldquoIt could be something you started out with mdash an attitude an idea a habit a belief and how an event made you reconsider I think change makes for the best of stories gtgtu00a0A good story has a wave of emotions ldquoSometimes one emotion put down well can sustain a poignant story and at other times you need multiple emotions and elements to really communicate what makes the story so greatrdquo says Burns gtgtu00a0ldquoVulnerabilityrdquo says Burns ldquomakes for a great story ldquoThe fact that you can relate to the character imagine yourself in a place only he has experienced is wonderful And for that you need to open yourself up project vulnerability and admit that you cannot always be in charge That39s a great storyrdquou00a0 Log on to wwwmumbaistoriescom To participate email your story at hellomumbaistoriescom kareenagiananimidday